Countrywide CEO didn't expect August market collapse

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Countrywide Financial Corp CFC.N Chief Executive Angelo Mozilo on Friday said he "in no way" predicted market conditions to "collapse" in August, putting pressure on the largest U.S. mortgage lender.

Mozilo spoke on a conference call in response to an analyst question concerning his July 2006 comment that in more than five decades in the mortgage industry, he had never seen a "soft landing" after the end of a upturn in a housing cycle.

"I must tell you that in no way did I expect what happened in August, where it was a complete collapse, a seizing up," Mozilo said.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel)